RIM Forks Out Nokia €50 Million To Settle Their Patent Dispute

Research In Motion (RIM), maker of Blackberry Smartphones forked out €50 Million (US$ 65.8 Million) to Nokia for settling a Patent dispute. However, the matter doesn’t seem to end there. According to the settlement agreement , RIM may have to pay Nokia anything between 2 – 5 Dollars per device it sells for using its patented technologies. RIM & Nokia had apparently signed a Patent Licensing deal way back in 2003 that allowed the Canadian company to use Nokia’s patented technology. However, things allegedly went south after Nokia found irregularities & sued RIM. The companies had been engulfed in arguments & counter-arguments, but just recently, Nokia withdrew all lawsuits. The heart of the contention were patents pertaining to Wireless Connectivity protocols or WLAN. The settlement comes at a very interesting juncture as both the companies are fighting hard to regain their past dominance in their respective segments. Blackberry is trying to woo back the executive crowd & take back the market share that Apple so definitively whisked away from it. Blackberry has been steadily losing business & large clients. This has put a sever strain on RIM. However, RIM apparently still has some fight left in it as it gears up to launch its latest BB OS 10 devices . Nokia on the other hand recently lost at the hands of Samsung . With a phone in every price bracket Samsung stole Nokia’s thunder in the price conscious market & even in the high-end market with its powerful, innovative & eye-catching smartphones. Though Nokia has not left the arena & continues to exert significant influence, the company has shown signs of regress. Despite losing the pole position , the Finland based company is sitting on a stockpile of patents to over 10,000 types of technology for which it has so far spent about US$ 60 Billion. It will be interesting to see how each company realigns its strategies now. What are your views? Image Courtesy | fonearena Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency

Research In Motion (RIM), maker of Blackberry Smartphones forked out €50 Million (US$ 65.8 Million) to Nokia for settling a Patent dispute. However, the matter doesn’t seem to end there. According to the settlement agreement , RIM may have to pay Nokia anything between 2 – 5 Dollars per device it sells for using its patented technologies. RIM & Nokia had apparently signed a Patent Licensing deal way back in 2003 that allowed the Canadian company to use Nokia’s patented technology. However, things allegedly went south after Nokia found irregularities & sued RIM. The companies had been engulfed in arguments & counter-arguments, but just recently, Nokia withdrew all lawsuits. The heart of the contention were patents pertaining to Wireless Connectivity protocols or WLAN. The settlement comes at a very interesting juncture as both the companies are fighting hard to regain their past dominance in their respective segments. Blackberry is trying to woo back the executive crowd & take back the market share that Apple so definitively whisked away from it. Blackberry has been steadily losing business & large clients. This has put a sever strain on RIM. However, RIM apparently still has some fight left in it as it gears up to launch its latest BB OS 10 devices . Nokia on the other hand recently lost at the hands of Samsung . With a phone in every price bracket Samsung stole Nokia’s thunder in the price conscious market & even in the high-end market with its powerful, innovative & eye-catching smartphones. Though Nokia has not left the arena & continues to exert significant influence, the company has shown signs of regress. Despite losing the pole position , the Finland based company is sitting on a stockpile of patents to over 10,000 types of technology for which it has so far spent about US$ 60 Billion. It will be interesting to see how each company realigns its strategies now. What are your views? Image Courtesy | fonearena Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency